Today we’d like to introduce you to Gina Weaver
Hi Gina, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I grew up in the Salt Lake area, then bounced around the US in my late teens. Upon graduating college, I went to Japan to teach English. I lived, toured, and taught all over Asia, including Korea, Taiwan, India, and the Philippines. I joke that I was a professional bum for ten years – living out of a backpack and coming back to the states for temp work until I had enough cash to go out again. I also spent a lot of time in Florence, Italy.
Spending years as an expat really changed my world view. I discovered that there are so many ways to live, and I had the luxury of choosing how to build my life. There is no way I could be the parent I am without having the experiences that shaped me outside the US.
During a travel hiatus, I met my children’s father. Since that time, I’ve lived here in SLC. I became a public educator in the school where my own children attended so as to remain close to them while breadwinning. This backfired horribly, because I’ve never neglected my kids more than when I taught public school. It should be mandatory that any legislator over public education should have to teach for a month before enacting regulations. Regardless, I still long for the moments when my students’ faces would light up, knowing that math can be fun and science is all around them. I also wish I could continue to provide a safe place for them, with an adult who loves them no matter what. There is no substitute for witnessing a reluctant child take control of their own education.
After the second year of the pandemic, I left teaching to go back into healthcare. I had the great fortune to join a biotech company that uses AI to improve the patient experience, from diagnostics through treatment, and even claims. Not only am I committed to the cause, but also surrounded by brilliant individuals at the top of their fields. It’s really energizing knowing that I support the work that will protect my kids’ health, and even those of my unborn grandchildren.
These days, I cherish the times when my dear friends from Japan, who reside all over the globe, get together for video calls. It’s like we never left our little town of Iwaki. We are still so vulnerable with and supportive of each other. It’s so uplifting to know we are still so close.
I also love being outdoors, gardening and paddle boarding with my trusty sidekick, Bob the dog. He’s twelve now, but he still summits peaks and swims with me during the summer.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Traveling and raising a family have been my two biggest delights and challenges. I lived abroad before the internet, so I had to learn to be resourceful while illiterate.
Experiencing different cultures caused me to challenge what I thought were instinctual human traits. Ultimately, I learned that there are welcoming people all over the world, and that mutual respect and compassion are the best values to hold.
Leaving my students to pursue a different career was one of the hardest things to do. For myself, I was ready to be free of the bureaucracy and mismanagement. For my kids, I hated that we wouldn’t discover how fun learning can be together.
I am so honored to parent my two children, and raising them in a conservative state has presented a gauntlet of risks. My daughter is transgender, and has always been judged, derided, and made to feel unsafe. Even in her own home, her father’s family sidelines her and makes her feel less-than. My son is high-functioning on the autism spectrum, and even close friends and family blame him for his disability.
You can imagine how I mama bear the situation. I’ve paved the inroads for my daughter’s affirming healthcare and position in society. I’ve joined my son where he is to build opportunities for him to thrive. I’m so incredibly fortunate to have forged an unconventional relationship with my kiddos. We are a band of misfits who face the world together. Both my kids have made dear and long-lasting friendships, and I’m so grateful at how they support each other and their communities with vitality and empathy.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Building systems and communicating knowledge are my favorite things to do. I seriously enjoy jumping into a messy cluster of silos, parsing out the details, and prioritizing initiatives. After building functional processes, I love to share and educate, then ideate and improve. It’s like a game that improves morale, equalizes the work load, and increases performance. The endeavor to improve keeps me researching for best practice, so it’s a win win!
In addition to augmenting performance systems, I like to have fun! For example, after a particularly strenuous planning session, I take my team to a watercolor painting class. We build towers, go on hikes, and make jokes. Laughing lowers stress, especially when the stakes are high. Even in the remote world, we play brain activation games and do mini yoga. Coworkers spend so much of their lives together, letting loose helps everyone feel connected.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
My core values are honesty, trust, transparency, and mutual respect. Whether we are reporting in a Daily Stand Up or deep-diving into a politically touchy process breakdown, we need to practice facing the problem together. Conflicts arise, and keeping our intentions on the task helps us to maintain appreciation for each other’s point of view. Ultimately, compromise comes from honesty, facing the problem together, and collaborating to find the best solution.
